Opponents, however, argue the report does little to address the country's binge-drinking culture.
The Law Commission yesterday released the 500-page report "Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the Harm".
It contains 153 recommendations and was tabled in Parliament.
Central recommendations include raising the purchase age for alcohol to 20, increasing the price of alcohol by 10% through an excise tax increase, and introducing blanket closing times for on- and off-licences, 4am and 10pm respectively.
The Government has 120 days to present its response to Parliament.
Justice Minister Simon Power rejected any increase in excise tax, saying it was "extremely unlikely" it would be on the agenda when the Government outlined its response.
In the report, Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer singled out the University of Otago for praise, after the tertiary institution eliminated all alcohol advertising and sponsorship from the campus "following well-publicised excesses in the use of alcohol" by students.
Alcohol-related incidents at the country's universities were a "cause for concern" and the University Council was to be commended for its proactive decision, he said.
The Law Commission had found widespread alcohol-related problems throughout rural and metropolitan New Zealand, and "those who enjoy socially and drink in a low-risk manner will be little affected" by the recommendations.
While Dunedin had demonstrated considerable community leadership on the issue, Queenstown had a "24-hour problem" with alcohol, he said.
"The problems are legion."
However, Good Group hospitality group director Russell Gray said any attempt to reduce the hours of on-licence premises would result in Queenstown becoming "the laughing stock of the international tourist community".
Liquor problems in the resort were largely caused by cut-price alcohol sold through supermarkets, he said.
The prevalence of cheap alcohol resulted in people "partying up in their flats and backpackers before they hit town".
Despite criticism in the report of a "saturated alcohol market", Progressive Enterprises supermarket operations general manager Dave Chambers said the company strongly opposed any move to introduce minimum pricing.
The company owns Countdown and Woolworths supermarkets.
"This is a costly and cumbersome process that has been rejected by most countries in the Western world for these reasons."
Lion Nathan corporate affairs director Neil Hinton said the company was "generally disappointed" by the recommendations, which would hit responsible drinkers in the pocket rather than addressing the issue of harm reduction.
The recommendations effectively targeted the hospitality industry and responsible drinkers "without targeting harm" caused by a minority of drinkers.
University of Otago preventive and social medicine department head Prof Jennie Connor said the commission's approach had been "fair and balanced".
While the recommended reforms were "substantial", for the average person there would be little negative impact, she said.
Violence and crime were fuelled by alcohol, and health often suffered because of it, so "it would be negligent of the Government not to act".
If the drinking age was raised to 20, public health would improve "quite quickly" and would continue to improve over time.
While she did not expect young people to stop drinking entirely, it would slow down, she said.
"What we need to stop is the escalation of drinking and the degree to which young people are drinking."
Dunedin Hospital emergency department clinical leader Dr John Chambers said the number of alcohol-related injuries seen in the department was "incalculable", but he hoped the recommendations would make a difference.
Bars closing earlier would have the biggest impact as the number of cases in the early hours would reduce, he said.
Police area commander Inspector Dave Campbell said alcohol was a "major" issue in Dunedin, with the availability of alcohol contributing to a rise in public and family violence.
Dunedin City Council liquor licensing and projects officer Kevin Mechen said the recommendations "would make a big difference".
He was particularly interested in the regulation of alcohol advertising and irresponsible promotions, as off-licences were included in the proposed changes.
The commission wanted to place alcohol in contained areas in supermarkets, which would go a long way in shifting society's alcohol culture, Mr Mechen said.
Lakes Environmental regulatory and corporate manager Lee Webster, of Queenstown, said he had yet to read the report and it was too early to comment on recommendations.
Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson said trading in a tough environment would only get harder for the hospitality industry if the recommendations were adopted.
An estimated 70% of alcohol was consumed away from licensed premises, yet the recommendations had targeted the hospitality industry rather than address the issue of harm - the purpose of the report, he said.
Starters Bar owner Janice Turoa, of Dunedin, expected the changes to have a "pretty big impact" on her student bar.
She believed the majority of problems did not come from the 18- and 19-year-olds, with older age brackets of more concern.
Removing alcohol from supermarkets or matching price in on- and off-licence premises, and closing off-licences earlier would have a bigger impact on the consumption of alcohol, she said.
